NEED HELP!!!!!

A

Amadi05

Guest
Soon I will be out of High school Im 17 years old and recently got accepted to Embry-Riddle, Ever since I was 6 I wanted to fly as an airline pilot, Im thinking about Flight school such as Delta Connection academy or Phoenix East aviation to gat my ATP but I dont know whats better since Embry gives you a degree and the Acedemy is a faster way to airlines and seniority counts so please halp me about my decision since most people in here are pilots and know whats best.
 
If money is no object, Embry Riddle is a great school. If that is the case, find out if your folks are adopting. :) DCA is equally nice. I've met two CFIs who went there and were excellent instructors. They must be doing something right. My instrument instructor earned his tickets there.

Usually, that's not the case so one needs to take a more economical approach. Probably one of the better options is attend a state community college to begin working on your degree and flying lessons at either an associated flight school or other good flight school in the area. By knowing where you live, you can receive some good recommendations in your area.

Either way, get a degree and I'd suggest it be in engineering or another discipline in high demand. The airline industry is and forever shall be volatile. You never know when things will change on you. I read of one pilot who was furloughed after 9/11 giving up after no recall and began medical school.

Plan for an educational direction providing a secure future and treat flying as something you'll pursue for income as something you love.

Several others more knowledgeable than I will chime in. This is just my suggestion.
 
My advice for you is to concentrate on getting a college degree first, then worry about the ATP. As other threads have noted it's practically a sure thing that you will have to reset your seniority at least once in an airline career. you'll start with a regional carrier, then eventually start over with a major, and probably get "reset" with a merger or two along the way.

So, if the airlines are what you want, Embry or another university with an aviation program, get the degree, and your entry level credentials (Commercial, instrument, multi, CFI, II, MEI) and then go pay some dues instructing or freight-dogging.
 
I attended an FAA conference two weeks ago at which the major airline reps made very clear that they still require a 4-year college degree unless you have "many thousands of hours." The regionals rep said they also want a 4-year degree but will take a 2-year degree. The majors rep said that will be a problem if those 2-year degree holders want to move up. Thus, just getting your flying credentials without a college degree leaves you with limited long-term potential.

If you're sure you want a piloting career, a 4-year aviation degree program is the fastest and most efficient way to get there, since your flying counts for about 25% of your degree credits. ERAU has an excellent program (Disclaimer: I am an alumnus). So do UND, FIT, Purdue, MTSU, Daniel Webster, Parks College at St Louis University, University of Dubuque, San Jose State, and dozens of other schools -- see the University Aviation Association web site http://www.uaa.aero for the full list of schools you should at least consider.
 
One more vote for a structured science degree. Either engineering or pure science(math, chem, Physics) degree from a good univ. Work on your flying with a good smaller school or FBO. Finish your comm/CFI and start building hours any way you can. This may mean towing banners, or flying pipeline. Twin time is getting very hard to come by while being paid. Unfortunately, that's the time that the majors want to see. Freight, or any other type of twin time will go a long way to get you into a big carrier.

Anyone with a pulse and a third class medical can be accepted at ER. It's not what I would consider a premier university, even for aviation. If it were me, I'd forget about ER and focus on getting your BS degree at the college of your choice, even a state college. Anything is cheaper than ER per hour of flight. I suggest you get in with a few partners and buy a small plane to train in. IF you're gonna fly that much, it's better than renting.
 
As a former student at Phoenix East, I suggest you get a good four-year degree. It will get you a good rounded education that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
 
Only study aviation, and you'll only ever be good for aviation. That may seem fine now but one day you may wish you knew more about something else.

I believe a college education being treated as a trade training program is a failure. One should always be eager to learn about everything, and fortunately, flying for a living does not require that you get a 4 year degree in aviation.

So I'd say get a well rounded education, like Aunt Peggy suggested, and work on flying as well.

Just goes to show, when you ask pilots what they think, you'll never get a single answer. Heck, we can't even agree on what makes planes fly.
 
I've had more than one former airline pilot come through my door going back to school to get out of the airlines. Lets face it, the price of oil is breaking records daily. As fares go up ridership goes down, and either will affect the number of pilots needed by the airlines. As much as I like flying I am ever so glad I didn't become a professional pilot.

Get a real degree. If the flying thing works out great; otherwise you can at least go out and get a real job, where they value your skill more than how long you've been there. Where if the company sucks you can just walk. And where you might just make enough to own your own aircraft, fly when you want where you want with no one to tell you otherwise.
 
you can always do it the way i did. start at a local community college flight training program now, get your CFI within 2 yrs while taking credits that will transfer to State University. I chose to punish myself with Aerospace Engineering but you could take something a lot easier and less time demanding and do a bunch of work flight instructing at the local FBO. work yourself into pt. 135 charters in a couple years and you could graduate with a 4 yr degree in something employable plus have a multi-ATP and a lot more money left in the bank (or at least less debt)
 
Get a "real" (non-aviation) degree in something you enjoy and could see yourself doing. Fly as much as you can afford to during school. Once you graduate, evaluate your situation and the industry, then figure out the best way to get whatever tickets you don't have if the airlines are still your goal. Just my $.02.
 
docmirror said:
One more vote for a structured science degree. Either engineering or pure science(math, chem, Physics) degree from a good univ. Work on your flying with a good smaller school or FBO. Finish your comm/CFI and start building hours any way you can. This may mean towing banners, or flying pipeline. Twin time is getting very hard to come by while being paid. Unfortunately, that's the time that the majors want to see. Freight, or any other type of twin time will go a long way to get you into a big carrier.

Anyone with a pulse and a third class medical can be accepted at ER. It's not what I would consider a premier university, even for aviation. If it were me, I'd forget about ER and focus on getting your BS degree at the college of your choice, even a state college. Anything is cheaper than ER per hour of flight. I suggest you get in with a few partners and buy a small plane to train in. IF you're gonna fly that much, it's better than renting.
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I gotta say the sciences and engineering are not what they used to be. So much of that is moving overseas to cheaper workers that finding jobs here is getting harder and harder. A good move would be a co-science/engineering with business degree. That will make you very marketable even more so in aviation as you move up the ladder into management.
 
Teller1900 said:
Get a "real" (non-aviation) degree in something it you enjoy and could see yourself doing. Fly as much as you can afford to during school. Once you graduate, evaluate your situation and the industry, then figure out the best way to get whatever tickets you don't have if the airlines are still your goal. Just my $.02.
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Agreed..get a real degree and try and train p61 I spent 25k pvt -MEI. At DCA that would have cost well over 100K. Do you really want a $600+ student loan payment with your $20k a year salary? I would really be carefull about DCA that place is a TOTAL SCAM. I took the tour, Ive seen the numbers DONT DO IT! With a commercial multi-engine and a heartbeat you can get a job at a bottom feeder regional(Mesa PSA) to build multi-time and grab an sic type-rating, put up with it for a while until you build some time and find a better gig . Good luck to you. Things in this industry will probably change alot before you arrive on the scene, so my advice is to be open to alot of options when it comes to professional flying.
 
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